Work Program

Every student at NMH participates in our work program.

That means they take on a four-hour-per-week "workjob" that usually changes each term. It could be baking cookies in the dining hall kitchen, giving campus tours to prospective students, managing a sports team, or doing chores on the farm. Older students are eligible for leadership jobs that last the entire school year, and day students are given the option of working over the summer.

Workjob supervisors assess each student’s attendance, enthusiasm, and productivity, and “passing” workjob is a graduation requirement. We take this seriously!

Schools across the country have started to adopt pieces of NMH's program, but it’s been going strong here since the school’s beginnings in 1879. Founder D.L. Moody wanted to build a community of people who respected and provided for one another, and we hold on to that value today.

Each workjob that a student performs is a vital part of the school’s operation. We believe that preparing meals, keeping classrooms clean, or organizing school events are important hands-on lessons. And while some schools only ask students who receive financial aid to work, we insist that all our students participate. (Yes, Saudi princes have washed dishes in our kitchen.)

It’s true that some students grumble at first. But in the words of a recent graduate who spoke at Commencement: “We should believe the little voice inside each of us that says, 'I can do this. NMH prepared me for anything.’ Seven a.m. workjob? Yeah, that’s what that was for.”